By Lee Kyung-min
The government will open a research institute next month to study the ingredients in tobacco and assess the harmful effects of smoking.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Monday, the institute will be set up at the KCDC’s headquarters in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, at the end of October.
Data from the institute are likely to be used in the government’s ongoing lawsuit against tobacco companies over compensation for healthcare costs linked to smoking-related diseases.
Its major objectives include analyzing the ingredients and additives in cigarettes and their smoke, as well as assessing the damage of secondhand exposure, the ministry said. Cigarette makers here are required to disclose the amount of tar and nicotine only, so what other ingredients or additives are included in their products are kept secret.
“Such studies have so far been conducted by private institute or the tobacco makers, often facing criticism for lacking credibility,” a KCDC official said.
“Government-level studies so far have focused on epidemiological research, but the new institute will concentrate on discovering any direct correlation between smoking and health hazards. Study results will be used for setting up anti-smoking policies and as evidence for the ongoing suit,” he said.
The institute will study ingredients and additives of cigarettes sold in Korea ― what kinds and how much of certain ingredients are included, such as nicotine, tar and ammonia, as well as additives such as menthol and sugar.
It will examine samples of hair, urine and blood to find out the impact of secondhand smoking, as well as the impact on cancer, cardiovascular and infectious diseases, and developmental disorders.
Researchers there have received training at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and attended a World Health Organization meeting of the Tobacco Laboratory Network.
Last year, the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) filed a compensation suit with the Seoul Central District Court against three tobacco firms ― KT&G, Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco Korea ― demanding 53.7 billion won ($45 million) for the medical costs it covered for 3,834 smokers who suffered from lung or larynx cancer.
The companies have claimed that smoking does not pose a health risk, saying the NHIS failed to establish the direct causal relation between smoking and cancer.
They said evidence of the epidemiological studies conducted by the NHIS on a large group of the population is merely statistical information, unsuitable as evidence for proving isolated cases.
They added that cancer is caused by a number of different factors including individual genetic health conditions and exposure to environmental pollution, in pointing out that not all smokers develop the deadly disease.